Who should I vote for in 2019 elections?

Who should I vote for in 2019 elections?

Now that 2019 elections are just a month way, so there must be a doubt in everybody's mind that who to vote for in 2019 elections. It is the simplest question perhaps, if you do not have an opinion of your own and are blindly follower or an individual or a political party.

For everybody else, it is very difficult to decide who to vote for, because we from our opinion based on the newspapers and news channels that we come across or maybe our friends and relatives.

Modi Government had launched many schemes over the period of 5 years which they flaunt and promote for vote conversion. Some of the popular schemes are mentioned below.

Had I to make an opinion based on these schemes, I will not be able to make an opinion as none of these schemes is directly benefiting me. So it is very difficult for anybody maybe for the first time voter to decide who to vote for in 2019 elections.

Some popular schemes of the Modi Government -

PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA

MUDRA BANK YOJANA

PRADHAN MANTRI JEEVA JYOTI BIMA YOJANA

PRADHAN MANTRI SURAKSHA BIMA YOJANA

ATAL PENSION SCHEME

PRADHAN MANTRI SANSAD ADARSH GRAM YOJANA

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana

UDAAN PROJECT

DIGITAL INDIA

SKILL INDIA

MAKE IN INDIA

SWACHH BHARAT

Namami Gange Project

Have these schemes been implemented and are these schemes  really successful on ground?

I should not form any opinion on these schemes based of any outside information or media reports. I have and should have a neutral opinion on these schemes, as I have no means to validate it as I am not a direct beneficiary of any of these schemes.

Validating the schemes is not so difficult, if one really wants to. However, TV channels and media reports should not be our means of validating a governmen't success or failure. Neither we should rely on the data and statements provided by the ruling party as well as the opposition parties. Both of them have their versions of the story which again should not be base lined.

So how do I form an opinion and who do I vote for in 2019?

As a middle class salaried person, I believe for me the criteria to vote for in 2019 would be you something that directly affects me. Any change, small or big, that affects me directly and I can see the change, should be the criteria for me to vote in 2019.

I have been filing income tax for how many years now and I have seen the time actually what to use to take for the income tax returns to come so earlier it was anything between three months or more but for the last one year also I have seen that the returns come within a month or even less. This change definitely affects me and this can be a criteria for me to form an opinion.

I travel by train at least once a year and have been travelling for almost 20 years now. My experience with Indian railways over the last few years has changed a lot. There was no customer grievance cell and the passengers had no where to go for all their grievances, until you know someone resourceful. Earlier I used to struggle with the train reservation and found it difficult to book seats and would have approached some agent to book tickets for me by paying extra money. I haven't done that for years now and have been able to easily book tickets. Getting tickets booked by agents has become an old story now for me. I am not saying this has come to end for everyone, but has certainly for me.

Also, there was no accountability on the quality of food served in the train or the cleanliness of the train. I could not have imagined an India where my problems while travelling in the train could have been solved by a single phone call or a single tweet to the railway helpline, be it a dirty toilet in the train or a missing bedsheet, quality of food and many more. Also, I have hardly heard of any train robberies in the last 5 years, which used to be a usual affair in trains.I give full marks to the government on this and this is a commendable job that has been done by the government. This further helps me build a stronger opinion.

Also, I find the government more accountable and prompt. I have raised a few queries with the ministry of health via mail which was addressed, which was again surprising for me.

The process of getting a gas connection was a tiresome job and black marketing of the gas cylinders was a full time business. This has come to end and the process has become smooth. I took a new gas connection 2 years back and it was smooth and corruption free.

I haven’t heard of any "actual" scams in the last 5 years, which is again surprising, as we are used to such things for more than 7 decades now.

The representation of the country on the international platform has been very good and we have a strong position in the international community.

Also, our defense strategy has changed from defensive to aggressive which is again a bold move which deserves appreciation.

All these changes are the ones that affect me directly and for which I don't need to seek information from elsewhere.

Do not form opinions based on the facts and figures presented in the newspapers, TV news channels, friends or relatives. We have no means of validating if the schemes of the government are successful, until we are the direct beneficiaries. Nobody has the time to research and validate this information and our only means of information is the media or political party representatives, both ruling as well as opposition, both having different point of view and different set of data, which is more confusing.

I am an educated middle class and can validate all the schemes of the government by surfing the internet, however that makes no sense to me, or anyone, as the information available might be different from ground reality, we not be direct beneficiaries of the programs.

We should rather look around us and see what has changed in our life in the last five years. Issues as small as booking a gas cylinder, using public transport, cleanliness; to issues as big as getting pension on time, getting a government job and accountability of our elected representatives etc.

Let us be the judge based on our personal experiences, however small, and not be judgmental, when we choose to vote in 2019 elections.

Happy Voting 2019